Yesterday
by sosmitten
Summary: With deepest apologies to my spoilerfree friends. Spoilers for the finale.


**Disclaimer:** They're not mine. Never were and never will be.

* * *

He reached for her and Lorelai recoiled from his touch. 

"Oh my god. Shit. What did we…?" She sat up, clutching the covers around her, looking around in horror as she took in her surroundings. "Oh my god. Oh my-"

"Lor, don't worry," he said, brushing his hand down her shoulder. "It's okay, I used a condom."

Though she couldn't have imagined any other reason for being where she was, his confirmation hit her like a sucker punch. "I wake up naked in your bed and I'm supposed to feel better because you used a condom?" she spit out. "What the hell? How did this…?" She started to get up, pulling the comforter with her, needing desperately to cover her nakedness.

"You really don't remember?" he asked in amazement. When she shook her head, her eyes still showing shock and confusion, he went on, "You showed up here last night, out of the blue, with a bottle of tequila and said you'd left Luke. You said you needed a friend." His voice was too calm, too unaffected.

"A friend? And this is how you interpreted that?" She could hear hysteria creeping into her voice as she gestured at the bed, and then at the clothing scattered on the floor.

"You didn't seem to be complaining last night," he said with a smirk that made her have to physically restrain herself from walking over and smacking him.

"And yet I don't remember a thing, but you were coherent enough to use a condom. How could you?" she said with a frustrated cry, snatching up her underwear from the floor and struggling to pull them on without losing hold of the comforter.

"So it would have been better if I'd forgotten about protection altogether?" he asked sarcastically. When she shook her head furiously, his voice softened and he stood up to walk toward her. "Look Lor, you came to me. What did you expect me to think?"

She stopped the search for her clothes briefly and met his eyes as she tried to still her shaky voice. "That maybe I needed a friend. That I was hurting and sad. That I needed to get away from Stars Hollow - away from everyone who doesn't understand how I could walk away from the only man I've ever really loved." She felt just the tiniest bit of gratification seeing him flinch at her words.

He started to respond, but she interrupted him angrily. "I needed a friend, Christopher, not a roll in the hay!" She turned away from him to scan the room. "Dammit! Where the hell are my fucking clothes?"

She jumped when she felt his hand on her shoulder. "Stop touching me!"

He looked just a little bit remorseful as he held out her jeans. "Here. They were…they must've gotten kicked under the bed."

Lorelai slipped into her jeans, then picked up the sweater she saw across the room and pulled it on. As she did instinctively after dressing, she reached to play with the ring on her left hand. The ring that was no longer there. She lifted her hands and whispered into the back of her fingers, "Oh god, Luke. I'm so sorry."

Behind her, she heard Christopher say softly, "You broke up. You don't owe him anything."

"I just gave him back the ring. I told him I needed a break."

"It's the same thing." She shook her head, but he continued, "He let you walk away."

She turned her head then and met his eyes, saying more confidently than she felt, "It's not forever. It's just a break. He's going to give it back to me. But now…" She felt her throat tighten and tears slip down her cheeks."

"Lor, don't do this. This doesn't have to be a big deal."

"It's a huge deal Chris. I came here because I needed someone to talk to."

"We did talk," he said weakly.

She glared at him and continued, "I needed, just for once, for you to be there for me, without thinking about yourself. Just once. That's all I was asking. I should have known better. You've never been there before." She sighed out all her pain and disappointment, turning to walk out of the room and down the stairs.

"Lor, wait. Where are you going?" he asked, following her.

"Home. I need to get out of here," she said, holding up her hand in a gesture of dismissal.

"You're upset. You can't drive like this. Let me take you."

"There's no chance in hell I can sit in a car for two hours with you," she answered bitterly. "I just need to go."

"Don't leave like this. Don't be mad at me. You came to me. This isn't my fault…" he called plaintively after her as she opened the front door.

"No, it never is, is it?" she said sadly, looking back at him one final time. "I should have known better. I really should have known better."

As she stepped outside and shut the door behind her, the tears she'd managed to slow fell freely. She leaned against the house, wiping her face with the back of her hand, trying unsuccessfully to regain her composure.

There was a time when she thought she'd never be with any man but Luke for the rest of her life.

That was yesterday.

_Fin_


End file.
